Gettin’ Old, This Adventure Called 'Life' Continues, However…………..

[Gary O]

My Very Last Day at Work

Yesterday, somebody asked me if I was a little nervous, a bit anxious, or hesitantly optimistic.

'Y'know, that fleeting pang did enter and exit what's left of my mind....' I replied while doing all I could to keep from levitating.



I tried to focus on the remaining tasks at hand, mainly transfer all the pics in my files to my home office, and delete all the personal crud.
I waited too long. Too much crap.

The distractions didn't help;

Early Wed morning I caught my forehead and eyebrows on the sticky side of clear packing tape that was stretched across the doorway to my office.

Thursday, when I left, I found my Jeep wrapped in shrink wrap (and several giggling faces in the employee door window and behind the dumpster).

Friday my office looked like it was attacked by the ghost of Mr Whipple.

Glad they love me

Engineering had their hand with adjusting the settings to my Email while I was gone to the post office.
When I typed 'I' it would default to 'The Gary'

I didn't notice this until after I'd sent out several Emails

So I sent 'em a frustrated Email;



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Gary O'


Alright you nimble minded pooptards, The Gary can't seem to send out an Email using the pronoun 'The Gary'...dammit...'The Gary'...crap



The Gary'm getting upset!!



(The Gary do love you guys...now FIX IT!!)

Nerdnic engineer types have a tenancy to get the giggles when they pull off a successful electronic ruse...I won't mention the time they set it up where whenever I Emailed them there would be audible clapping on their end.........


And now....now the first day of the rest of my new life

[rick91351]

Gary, good luck in your new coming phase of life. 

As one that this has occurred to.  (retirement) For the first week you need to get a grip on getting in place what I call anti-euphoriaism. Lest when you are asked do you miss it.  You will apt to run over the top of them screaming and laughing and crying I'm frreeee!!!  While ripping off ones clothing and streaking down the sidewalk.

One needs to practice standing in front of the mirror or video camera and rehearsing with a straight face.  When asked do you miss your old job. Tell everyone yes.  YESS YESSSSS!  You know there are places there at work I am so concerned that we did not do a proper hand off of key responsibilities, and secret programs and meetings that were occurring.  Assure them when released it is going to be big - really big, huge.  Practice looking at them with lost little puppy expressions. Keep from looking them in the eye and calling them stupid, or the other @#$(@!#(#(@#($@ what do you think response.  Avoid - Screw them and their purple pony.  Do you think that you would miss it!!!!!  I THANK NOT!!!!   

Most good writers can and do make pretty good actors I find. Refine your acting skills before venturing forth......

[Redoverfarm]

Congratulations Gary.  There are two major regrets about retirement that I had found.  One being the camaraderie of my fellow employees and the other was the routine of being someplace daily.  So don't be surprised if you stand silently and think "where am I suppose to be".  But this will pass and be traded for "what was it that I was going to do".  The work was never missed and at times was a added relief to be out of the loop only having to answer to ones self. 

[Gary O]

Congratulations Gary.  There are two major regrets about retirement that I had found.  One being the camaraderie of my fellow employees and the other was the routine of being someplace daily.  So don't be surprised if you stand silently and think "where am I suppose to be".  But this will pass and be traded for "what was it that I was going to do".  The work was never missed and at times was a added relief to be out of the loop only having to answer to ones self.

Amen, brother

Heh, woke up at 4:17

Blinked

Rubbed my eyes

Stared at the clock

Rolled over

Giggled myself back to sleep

Truth is we've got a ton of stuff to do, mainly fill all the nooks and crannies in the container, then buzz down to the cabin and prep the drop site.
Turns out tilt beds can't handle full containers, it takes a freaking semi and loads on the side.

So, gotta get out the chain saw and make sure the drive has clearance.

izziss Wednesday?

[sparks]

   Gary,

  Have always enjoyed all of your posts and pics

May you live long and still be prosperous.....

I kinda sorta fell thru the cracks here lately......just thought I should say Hi!

Well.......I guess I should say Hi to all......

Hi!

[Gary O]

I kinda sorta fell thru the cracks here lately......just thought I should say Hi!

Well.......I guess I should say Hi to all......

Hi!

.....and that, I've come to know,  is so sparks like, dry witty almost miss it if yer not lookin' humor.
I too would be on here more, but my old hind end has been draggin' around our new residence (the cabin), tryin' to find the things I packed.....
one of them bein' the desktop computor.....the one with the normal sized keyboard.

[rick91351]

.....and that, I've come to know,  is so sparks like, dry witty almost miss it if yer not lookin' humor.
I too would be on here more, but my old hind end has been draggin' around our new residence (the cabin), tryin' to find the things I packed.....
one of them bein' the desktop computor.....the one with the normal sized keyboard.

Great shades of when we went from a 3000sq ft ranch style home to a fifth wheel.  I so had my life challenged... My pack ratting and buying two large rather than one small that was instilled into me by parents who lived the Great Depression then found themselves making pretty good money.  Mom and her well stocked pantry and my dad's ability to score neat stuff. I felt my value and self so - so being challenged.  The awe and yes greed of a full sized key board, with a full sized monitor.  Knowing there were people somewhere in America able to take long soothing showers and not a quick spritz in the fifth wheel. The reality of OH MY WORD how I realized I HATED laptops and Ellen's I-Pad.  Even when we were traveling.  Thinking and knowing I can just make do starting to punch holes in my brain and stuff started leaking out on to the pillow at night.  Though I never found it I knew it was going on.  I think now all my stuff is rotting on the inside of my fifthwheel pillow.  Though I have never smelled it nor felt it.

To this late date I still go out almost daily to the shop where my old rosewood desk sits disassembled and in pieces and shed tears.  Oh the great novels I was going to write on it.....  The reality we never included a spot for it in the new house.  Yes YES the house,  the house just to get out of the fifthwheel.......

Sorry I am so pathetic for robbing your and Sparks thread.  Once again I wax and wane - realizing I shall never complete my task of being a writer.  Then hear me America I have a great fear of never getting the house - yard and a wood shed completed.  I can just hear them at my funeral telling each other.  You know it was the last nail into the wood shed that got him.  It was completed and he collapsed.  It was when all that was finished and he realized he still had to fill the damn thing up with fire wood that he said he had had enough  Life was not worth it and collapsed on a pile right on top of a fresh pile of fresh horse manure.  Yep Ol' Rick found out life after all was nothing but a pile of fresh horse shit.       

[Gary O]

Thinking and knowing I can just make do starting to punch holes in my brain and stuff started leaking out on to the pillow at night.  Though I never found it I knew it was going on.  I think now all my stuff is rotting on the inside of my fifthwheel pillow.  Though I have never smelled it nor felt it.

Well that's a bit too much info.....and certainly too close to home for this midnight drooler (parts of my morning beard can oftentimes have the same look and consistency of what can be found in a shower drain)....thanks for sharing, sir Rick. (How'd you know I just had breakfast?)

[Gary O]

Sorry I am so pathetic for robbing your and Sparks thread.  Once again I wax and wane - realizing I shall never complete my task of being a writer.   

NEVAH!!
My morning break wouldn't be the same.

aaaand

There is no schedule for writing.


Now, sparks, well, what can be said.
The dude walks his own path.


.....we get invited from time to time

[Adam Roby]

If I may....

You guys are all nuts!

But that's what keeps me coming back!   
Keep up the insanity, and wonderfully entertaining and very accurate to life poetry.

[Gary O]

You guys are all nuts!

if yer expecting an argument, yer gonna be s-o-o-o-o-o-o disappointed

[rick91351]

I think you guys have hurt my feelings for the last time today.  I'll going to go to bed and ooze and loose my ideas in to my pillow....... wonder if I used a zip lock bag for a pillowcase and lined it with tin foil if my pillow would stop glowing at night?.....

[Gary O]

I think you guys have hurt my feelings for the last time today.  I'll going to go to bed and ooze and loose my ideas in to my pillow....... wonder if I used a zip lock bag for a pillowcase and lined it with tin foil if my pillow would stop glowing at night?.....

Day ain't over yet......AR's surmising has just been substantiated.

Nite nite, sleep tight, don't let that glowing pillow give ya a fright (weeeeird).

[Pine Cone]

Congrats! 

I have three months until my last work day.

Still having some sleepless moments about whether this or that part of the financial plan will work, but no doubts that it is time to do it.

Still looking forward to figuring out what I want do when I grow up...

Bound to happen some day

[rick91351]

Congrats! 

I have three months until my last work day.

Still having some sleepless moments about whether this or that part of the financial plan will work, but no doubts that it is time to do it.

Still looking forward to figuring out what I want do when I grow up...

Bound to happen some day

Hey PC (Pine Cone) so glad to see you getting ready to  Well on the railroad we call it pull the pin.  I do not know what you would call it.  Scale you last or fell you last or ______

Having the worries to me just shows you are aware there might be adjustment coming in you life.  No matter how hard you try there will be weak spots some places.  And there will be places you plan for and then wonder what the heck was the worry there.  For us the best thing we could have done was pull the pin and find a life not centered around what I was doing....   

[Pine Cone]

Hey PC (Pine Cone) so glad to see you getting ready to  Well on the railroad we call it pull the pin.  I do not know what you would call it.  Scale you last or fell you last or ______

We'll stick with that classic forestry term...  after a clearcut, you....


REGENERATE!

[Gary O]

Still having some sleepless moments about whether this or that part of the financial plan will work, but no doubts that it is time to do it.

Hey man, I'm a noob at this retirement gig, but I'll tell ya, I'm on cloud nine.
When a guy (or gal, ahem) slogs away for years to the tune of someone else's drum, then walks away from it all, fanfare or not, the party begins.

Ever day.

For.....ever.

Some folks have asked me if I miss it.

....not into masochism

dues are paid up

had my turn in the barrel

heh ...I'm not late fer nuthin'


and


I've got too much to do to miss anything

good show, PC, yer almost there
savor these last days

cheers

[rick91351]

You know I think I have said this before but I almost feel bad I do not miss it.  I mean really I turned the light switch off - I am finished....  I do like to think about it at times.  Lucky I seen a lot of the old railroad and how it worked.  I liked to think of some of the victories some of the losses.  I write about it on occasion.  If I were offered a huge amount to return or given a new position I would have to decline.  Thank you for thinking of me but...... you know I am happy to be gone...
     

[Gary O]

Can't put my finger on it, but I'll try;

I think, some, on what I'm doin', where I'm goin'...why I'm goin' and doin'.
Prolly more than most.
Maybe it's what happens in the mid sixties.

But

We're doin' what we both dreamed of since early childhood.
Our dreams spanned thru the sixties, seventies, eighties, germinating in the late nineties and ought years, and now; culmination.

Out here, living off grid, out of contact with the general society, no insurance with the exception of liability on both rigs, generally cut off the umbilical cord, I get a feeling....of.....vulnerability, maybe.
Maybe it's an awakening after withdrawing from what's deemed the societal norm these days.

Looking back, it's like we were of a sedated tribe of The Time Machine's Eloi. The alarm goes off, scurry off to work, the shop bell goes off, slog home......all's clear.

Out here, seems one (at least me) is much more aware of one's immediate or near future susceptibility.
Watching the east and north for storm clouds, gathering wood for winter, securing tools every evening, keeping artillery close at hand for that rather large aging carnivore on an evening prowl for slow meat, the sound of a vehicle pulling up; 'whoozat?!'

The lone thread of connection is this Jet pack gizmo so my woman and I can keep contact with normal folk.....and life flight.
And if that little genny decides to suddenly cease it's magical thing, my woman and I will sit here....in the dark...blinking, fleeting thoughts of suddenly going deaf and blind, then realizing our primal living arrangement just got a bit more primal.

Every time I prep the chain saw, I think; 'am I going to sever a major artery this morning?' 'was that last cup of coffee actually my last cup of coffee?'
I s'pose its some sorta mental defense mechanism to keep my feeble mind on the speeding razor barbed chain that happens to be tearing chunks outta the log inches away from my femur....

These thoughts haunt me of late.
Like we just stepped to the edge, or we were already on the edge, but so mesmerized by the droning hum of the TV, sitting there, eating, sleeping, showering, mowing, painting, dusting, accumulating plaque in our restricted veins, we just were not aware.

All's clear now.

[rick91351]

Thanks for sharing!  You bring up some great points - great prospective on life and living.  No matter the age and dollars in the bank.  When you live away from it all. Hopefully, you do learn very quickly that fine line between standing tall and loosing it all. Treasure it - experience the moments - drink it in. The joy and the pain both. Sounds sort of funky but yes the aches and pains of life are part of living and loving - and part of the alphabet soup we live in.  For indeed tomorrow as the song says - some days never come.

Last night there were lighting storms both side of us.  We sat on the back porch watching to the south. Much better prospective and more interesting than the one to the north.  I enjoyed sitting there next to Ellen soaking it all in - hope it was reciprocal. In the valley I would have drifted off to my office at that late hour most likely.  Ellen most likely to her quilting frame or television and both just omitting the great outdoors and sharing the moment.

[Gary O]

Attended a memorial today

May have mentioned an ol' guy a time or two, our neighbor across the way
Mel...'Old Shorty' to his military buds

His wife had his many medals and honors on display in his den
Right alongside his box of ashes.....didn't immediately recognize him in that black box...seemed shorter somehow...


He knew how to live
Continuous fire and simultaneous twinkle in his old eyes
A dozen projects started, never to complete
An itch, a need to move forward, build, plan, enjoy

Now...now undone

He was 88
Mind of a thirty year old
Stood around 5 foot 4
Hands the size of a much larger man
Built like Yogi Berra

Always a quick, witty reply
We liked each other right off the bat
Seemed like an old Uncle...a really cool old uncle

Five years ago he pled for us to 'hurry up and move out here before I die'

We finally got to be his neighbor...for almost 80 days

almost



Fin

[rick91351]

Thanks for the share.  Seems even as we get older we are still under the influence of older people.  We seek out the fathers and the uncles who can still spin great yarns and tales.  That will look you in eye and set you straight.  Or hell lets go have a beer and think about this ...................  At any rate Gray O sorry for the loss. 

[Gary O]

Thanks, Pard.

It's a bit of a wake up call. Not that I've needed one of late, but it do take one out of their self filled sphere from time to time.


Today was back to busyness.

Our routine;

Wake (always good for this to happen)

Heat water for that morning splash (wife preps this)

Scratch myself and wander outside while she makes breakfast

Eat while commenting on each other's beauty (we're both blind as bats so that eye floater is assumed it's our mate smiling on the other side of the breakfast nook)
Go back to wandering outside and scratching while the wife does the dishes (oh, I put the milk away on occasion)

Ponder the day's events while she tends her garden and takes potshots at the squirrel sitting on the log (who seems to be of the opinion that it's his garden)

Open the tool crib

Ponder (while my woman is off and running, picking wild currants, having already scrubbed and hung the wash)

Gas everything up, check oils, change oils, saunter over to the designated cutting area with my chainsaw and commence to ruin the peace

Slog, work, toil till 1p, then attend to the ritual of putting all things related to labor back in the tool crib and scurry to the meadow

Here is where we have a renewal, a spiritual awakening of sorts in the font of immersion by faith (kiddie pool)...faith that the water is warm today, of which it never is, thus the regular occurrence of calling on the lord when plummeting past the naval

Even though splayed upon the chaise lounge, basking in the sun, the afternoon breeze (often gale force winds) tends to retard the sun's warmth...to the point of developing the skin of a freshly plucked turkey coupled with convulsive chattering

Once we have regained function of most major organs and some feeling in our upper limbs, we usually decide it's time to stroll back to the cabin for lunch/dinner

Today we had chicken salad on crackers, swilled down with juice (I assume this all didn't magically appear, and my lady put it together)

It was remarkably delicious

At around 4p we set about tightening things up for the night and settle in to a video, and or get on our favorite sites...like right now, and or sit out by the garden, chatting about whatever comes to mind

The skeeters aren't too bad this year, so oftentimes we'll stroll the property and discuss the next day's events

When darkness looms, we fight the good fight of consciousness until 8:30 or 9 and ease (plop) into bed

Not everday is like this, but most

We go to town once a week, so the day before we tune the list for what we need

This Wednesday we'll purchase the materials for the beginning of our addition to the second cabin



That's when the real fun begins.

[Gary O]

just an ol' man's observation



Tis the season

went to town yesterday

Stopped at McDonalds

Walked in (drive thru was jammed)

Ordered a McCoffee

Stood back in order purgatory away from the ever growing line of pseudo-beef cravers

Frantic place

Pre diabetic saccharinated preschoolers zipping from the play room to the McToilet and back.
Young McMuthers, with old eyes, trying to keep track, chasing with sanitized wipes.

The McManager is a tad over the top.
Too happy
Worn out smile
No longer actually sees individuals, just the herd.
He'll prolly go home a couple hours after his shift, trudge up the stairs to his apartment, throw his bills on the kitchen table, sit, open his McShit burger with stale fries, and stare....at his gun.

The trainee is doing her best to remain in the flow, the running of the McBulls.

The old hand, been there forever (two months), instinctively stabs at a handful of tiny Heinz ketchup packets for the lacking customer in the emergency queue.

An old man, squinting at the menu board, trying to decide on which delicacy would be optimal in regard to his budget and digestive tract while the assistant manager idles in high gear, eyes darting.

Good coffee

No need for a refill

Made my way to the Ronald McDonald house of poop.
Left a rather significant McTurd in McStall number 2....fitting.
Noticed the auto flush was still struggling with it as I administered a papal blessing to the McAuto paper towel dispenser.

My work is done here.

Outside, three McTrainees by the dumpster are huffing down cigarettes, texting, eyeballing the time.

I am happy

For McRetirement

[Redoverfarm]

Inquiring minds would like to know.  Did you get your Senior discount?